US anti-semitic awareness bill would be a direct attack on free speech

The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act would legally define criticism of the government or state of Israel as an act of anti-Semitism, and should concern every American, regardless of their views on Israel.

“It would be as if you could not criticize US capitalism, and if you were to do so, you would be considered to be a bigot,” Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston told Sputnik’s The Critical Hour. “Indeed, I think that you should correctly sense a whiff of what befell the United States in the 1950s with the so-called 'House un-American Activities Committee'.”

Some of the most egregious attacks on free speech would include

🔶 Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.”

🔶 “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.”

🔶 “Applying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.”

🔶 “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy of that of the Nazis”

“It's part and parcel of what can fairly be considered [a] sort of thought crimes,” Horne warned. “There are going to be thought police who are going to ferret out these alleged offenders of these thought crimes.”

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🇸🇦🇮🇩Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are trying to persuade EU countries to abandon the confiscation of Russian assets

The countries have been lobbying EU capitals not to seize the assets, fearing for the future of their own reserves held in the West, the Financial Times reports, citing officials.

While the US and Canada continue to push for the confiscation of Russian assets, the EU "remains highly cautious, resulting in a stalemate," the outlet said.

Confiscating Russian assets could trigger a wave of reparations claims stemming from long-standing disputes, such as those against Germany after the two world wars, as well as former colonies making claims against former imperialist powers, the FT noted, citing EU officials.

"Moving from freezing the assets, to confiscating them, to disposing of them [could carry the risk of] breaking the international order that you want to protect," European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said.

While Ukraine insists on the complete seizure of Russia's assets, G7 officials privately declare that such a step is "no longer on the table."

The Russian Foreign Ministry has called the freezing of Russian assets theft, noting that such an attempt violates international law.

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Nuclear energy race: US yielding to Russia and China

Although a massive US nuclear power plant in Georgia is finally complete, the facility “might be the last of its kind," the Wall Street Journal has reported.

The development comes as the US faces the closure of at least 25 nuclear plants, in another sign that America is losing the nuclear energy race to Russia and China, which plan to build 19 and 24 such facilities, respectively, before the end of 2029. Moreover, Moscow is building nuclear reactors for other nations – the list of NPPs includes Xudabao and Tianwan in China, Akkuyu in Turkiye, El Dabaa in Egypt, Koodankulam in India, Paks in Hungary, and Ruppur in Bangladesh.

▫️Reports suggest that a mere five nuclear plants are due to be constructed in the US over the next five years.

▫️Forbes, in turn, has reported that “in the same period as China’s building spree [related to nuclear facilities], the US added [just] 2 with none under development now.”

▫️The emerging technology of small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced generation IV reactors are being embraced much quicker in China and Russia than in the US, according to open sources.

▫️Importantly, Russia provides almost a quarter of the enriched uranium used to fuel America’s fleet of more than 90 commercial nuclear reactors, which makes Russia the No. 1 foreign supplier, per US Energy Department data.

▫️Last but not least, both Russia and China “lead the US in terms of the number of agreements with sales of nuclear energy hardware [such as nuclear reactors] and services attached," according to a memo by the Third Way, a Washington-based think tank.

▫️The memo is eloquently noscriptd 'The world wants nuclear energy. China and Russia are racing ahead.'

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